"You do have a point, it seems quite similar."
Xu Xiaoyan nodded seriously.
"But if we really think about it, Yuhao is the most like a boss, isn't he?"
The others nodded in agreement.
Yuhao indeed looked like the big boss, while they were more like minor villains under the boss.
"Alright, let's not talk about this anymore, let's get ready to go on stage."
Yuanen Yehui shook her head and glanced at Xu Yucheng beside her before turning her gaze forward.
Ten minutes later.
"The match is about to begin, please proceed to the arena immediately."
An emotionless mechanical female voice echoed through the spacious waiting area.
Ahead, two massive arched doors slowly opened, and the already noisy atmosphere instantly became even more intense. The wave of excitement that hit them was overwhelming.
Fourteen students from the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy and Shrek Academy walked into the arena together.
It was a grand structure modeled after an ancient colosseum, with a plaza over 1, 500 meters in diameter and spectator stands that could accommodate more than 150, 000 people, making it the largest on the continent. However, only about a third of the seats were occupied, all by teachers and students from the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy.
In the VIP seats, Lan Muzi and the other two were also invited in, and they quickly spotted three people sitting in front of them.
Huo Yuhao, Gu Yuena... Gu Ruiqiu.
Lan Muzi's gaze lingered on Huo Yuhao and Gu Ruiqiu for a moment.
Spirit Sovereign, Huo Yuhao.
Golden Princess, Gu Ruiqiu.
Two reserve Spirit Transmission Envoys from the Spirit Pagoda headquarters had arrived.
"Please take your seats," a teacher from the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy gestured, inviting them to sit.
Lan Muzi snapped out of his thoughts and nodded slightly, leading his companions to their seats.
Huo Yuhao remained calm, seemingly unaware of the gaze from behind, and focused on the arena.
Gu Ruiqiu, on the other hand, tilted her head slightly, her golden hair shimmering softly under the light, a strange smile playing on her lips.
Lan Muzi, Tang Yinmeng... She remembered they were disciples of the Light and Darkness Douluo, Long Yeyue, right?
If these two were to visit the Spirit Pagoda headquarters and see the claw mark left by the Bear Lord, it would be quite interesting...
"Xie Xie, isn't your mouth quite sharp? Use your mouth to defeat them!"
"Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy, go for it!"
"Class Monitor Yuanen, I admire you!"
On the arena, Yue Zhengyu couldn't help but frown. The wave of hostility was almost palpable, and the cheers from the stands were all for their opponents. The heir of the Angel Martial Soul smiled wryly and touched his nose. "It seems we're really not welcome here."
Long Chen stared at the group opposite him, a slight smile on his lips. "Then let's defeat them and silence those students."
Stepping over the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy to establish their position in the soul master world wouldn't be bad, would it?
Ye Xinglan looked at the opposing lineup, her gaze sweeping over five of them, and frowned.
—I didn't expect it, our opponents are actually them.
Yuanen Yehui and Yue Zhengyu stood at the front of their respective teams, their eyes meeting, each feeling a sense of irritation. The match hadn't even begun, but there was already a sense of confrontation.
Was it because of their martial souls?
Both sides frowned simultaneously, but under the referee's request, they began to introduce themselves.
"Yue Zhengyu."
"Yuanen Yehui."
...
"Ye Xinglan."
"Xie Xie."
After both sides finished their introductions, the atmosphere tensed up immediately.
The arena lights suddenly brightened, and the noise from the spectator stands gradually subsided as everyone's attention was drawn to the center.
"Five, four, three, two, one, match begin!"
At the referee's command, both sides simultaneously released their soul rings and martial souls, and a large number of yellow and purple soul rings floated in the air.
A longsword emitting a bright yellow light appears in Ye Xinglan's palm, the blade seems adorned with millions of twinkling stars, dazzling even in broad daylight.
Star God Sword!
The moment Ye Xinglan grasped the Star God Sword, her aura merged with the sword, entering a state of unity between body and sword. Her imposing presence was no weaker than a four-ringed Soul Ancestor, clearly marking her as an opponent worth watching.
However, compared to this "old opponent," Tang Wulin and the audience were more focused on the other three.
A pair of angel wings appeared behind Yue Zhengyu, and four dazzling soul rings burst out from under his feet, circling around him.
Purple, purple, purple, purple!
Long Chen took a sudden step forward, and a clear dragon roar erupted from within him. His figure instantly grew three inches taller, his robes fluttering without wind, and four purple soul rings rose from under his feet.
Duan Hunxiao smiled slightly, a green long flute appeared in his hand, with two yellow and two purple soul rings circling around him.
Three four-ringed Soul Ancestors, two of whom had all purple soul rings, which was somewhat unexpected for the teachers and students of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy.
These guys from Shrek Academy... are quite formidable.
Fortunately, the seven students from their academy weren't far behind. Yuanen Yehui, Tang Wulin, and Xu Xiaoyan also had purple soul rings, although the latter two were currently three-ringed Soul Elders and couldn't match their opponents in cultivation level. The others had normal soul ring configurations...
Oh, wait, there was one with an abnormal soul ring configuration.
Xu Yucheng, with four yellow soul rings.
The audience: "..."
To say he's strong, this soul ring configuration is really not great. To say he's weak, becoming a four-ringed Soul Ancestor at fourteen and a half is already quite impressive, making it a bit of a mixed feeling.
"Light Holy Dragon? Sacred Angel? Three Soul Ancestors?"
Lin Jiayi frowned.
It seems their academy's chances of winning aren't great.
While the teachers and students of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy were worried, the battle had already begun, with Xu Lizhi first distributing buns to his teammates.
After eating Xu Lizhi's buns, Long Chen lightly tapped the ground with his toes, his body shooting up like an arrow from a bow, charging straight towards Yuanen Yehui.
His second soul ring suddenly lit up, Dragon's Roar.
The surging sound waves solidified around him, and a faint golden silhouette gradually outlined the shape of a giant dragon. A majestic aura of light erupted like a volcano.
His target was Yuanen Yehui.
The opponent's cultivation level was obviously the strongest in the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy, so defeating her would naturally be a plus. That way, he will have a chance to visit the Ice Fire Yin Yang Well and also enter the inner academy, killing two birds with one stone.
However, when Xie Xie and the others saw Long Chen's martial soul, they all turned to look at Tang Wulin, their faces showing meaningful smiles.
It's a dragon!
"Wulin, this one's yours."
Xie Xie said with a wink.
Tang Wulin nodded, a flash of fighting spirit in his eyes as he stepped forward. The three purple soul rings around him suddenly retracted, replaced by a dazzling golden halo.
Fine golden dragon scales covered his entire body, reflecting a chilling light under the sun. Tang Wulin's right arm muscles bulged, and as he spread his fingers, five golden claws over a foot long snapped out, their tips gleaming with a heart-stopping sharpness.
"Roar—"
Long Chen's Dragon's Roar hadn't fully unfolded when it suddenly stopped as if choked. He was horrified to find that the faint golden dragon silhouette around him was trembling violently, as if encountering a natural predator, and began to dissolve.
The trembling from deep within his bloodline made his movements falter.
In an instant, Tang Wulin's golden dragon claws tore through the air. Where the claws passed, Long Chen's aura of light melted like snow, and his protective soul power was torn open with five hideous glasses.
Bang!
With a dull thud, Long Chen was sent flying like a kite with a broken string, sliding over ten meters on the arena before barely stopping.
The entire arena fell silent.
Neither the audience nor Long Chen's companions had expected this outcome, but the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy, seeing their side gaining the upper hand, quickly erupted in cheers.
"How is this possible?"
Beside Lan Muzi, Tang Yinmeng couldn't help but exclaim.
"Was that... martial soul suppression? What martial soul can suppress the Light Holy Dragon?"
And what was with that golden soul ring? A legendary million-year soul ring?
Compared to others' shock, the Shrek Academy students still on the arena felt like this was surreal.
They had never imagined beforehand that Long Chen, one of the top two in their team in terms of strength, would be taken down so easily. The opponent hadn't even shown much strength, just one move, and their teammate was down... Was this reasonable?
"Long Chen... are you a mole planted by the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy? Did you actually come from there? Taken down in one move... This is too fake."
Yue Zhengyu's mouth twitched, silently grumbling in his heart, but he didn't give up the fight and actively engaged Yuanen Yehui, who had transformed into a Titan Giant Ape.
With Long Chen down, only he can face Yuanen Yehui now. They still have two Soul Ancestors on their side, so they still have a chance.
In the center of the arena, Yue Zhengyu quickly clashed with Yuanen Yehui. The angel wings spread out, and the holy light collected fiercely with the Titan Giant Ape' aura, creating deafening roars.
Seeing this, the others took different actions.
Xu Xiaoyan's third purple soul ring suddenly lit up, and a blizzard began to spread across the entire arena.
As the snowstorm obscured the arena, Xie Xie quietly disappeared, while Wang Jinxi, Zhang Yangzi, and Xu Yucheng charged forward together.
On Shrek's side, Duan Hunxiao flipped his hand, and the green long flute was placed at his lips. His fourth soul ring suddenly lit up. The melodious flute sound turned into tangible sound waves, sweeping towards the opposite side.
Instantly, Tang Wulin and the others felt a wave of dizziness, and the speed of Xu Xiaoyan's blizzard slowed down.
Seeing this, Ye Xinglan and Bai Hanying pressed forward, trying to seize the opportunity to turn the tide.
Xiaopeng was also holding a bright silver hammer, which he wielded fiercely at Tang Wulin. Tang Wulin's eyes flashed with golden light, and he stabilized himself amidst the dizziness. Facing the oncoming hammer, he didn't retreat but instead advanced, his right arm's golden dragon claw fiercely met it!
"Clang—!"
In the deafening sound of metal colliding, He Xiaopeng felt a sharp pain in his palm, and the bright silver hammer was almost knocked out of his hand.
Duan Hunxiao's eyes narrowed, wanting to continue suppressing, but suddenly—
A sharp spiritual Impact like a sword shot through the air!
"Ugh!"
He grunted, his movements instantly stiffened. He looked in horror at the seemingly frail blue-haired girl in the distance, Xu Xiaoyan was retracting the golden light in her eyes, a faint smile on her lips.
"Spiritual Impact? Close to the Spirit Sea Realm's spiritual power?"
Duan Hunxiao's heart was in turmoil.
If he hadn't also been close to the Spirit Sea Realm, he might have been in danger just now.
Wasn't that girl a tool-type martial soul? With such strong spiritual power and the ability to use spiritual impact-type self-created soul skills, one might think she was a spiritual-type soul master...
As the owner of a sound-based martial soul, he was very strong in group control, able to suppress all seven opponents. But once interrupted, the time needed to accumulate and unleash another burst will increase.
With his actions paused, Xu Xiaoyan's blizzard spread unchecked, completely obscuring the arena.
"Even though it's not as strong as when Na'er helped me train and used the elemental Heart to assist my blizzard, it's definitely enough to block vision."
Xu Xiaoyan thought to herself.
As the snowstorm spread, two shadows quietly approached Duan Hunxiao and Xu Lizhi from behind and suddenly attacked!
It was Xie Xie and his clone, Xu Xiaoyan's blizzard was used to conceal his movements.
Xie Xie's clone quickly closed in on Xu Lizhi, catching the latter off guard, but his reaction was good, and he quickly stepped back with Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, looking at him with a complicated expression.
Xie Xie himself emerged like a phantom from the snowstorm, his gleaming dagger slashing out, interrupting Duan Hunxiao before he could play the next note.
Duan Hunxiao twirled his flute, deflecting Xie Xie's dagger and neutralizing the attack.
"You're a sound-type martial soul, why are you practicing physical combat so well? Are you planning to fight with your flute?"
Xie Xie didn't press the attack, intending to use speed and words to distract this control-type soul master and buy time for the other battles. He stepped back and feigned surprise, "Could it be that your academy's cafeteria is so bad that it turned you, a flute player, into a martial monk?"
The audience burst into laughter.
Duan Hunxiao's eyes twitched, and the jade flute in his hand suddenly glowed faintly.
Xie Xie remains unperturbed, his body sliding away like a fish, continuing to taunt, "Oh, getting angry now! Does Shrek Academy specialize in training street performers? You handle that flute better than the old masters under the bridge!"
"But that's useless, watch me uppercut, go for the lower body..."
"Shut up!!!" Duan Hunxiao couldn't take it anymore and roared.
Xie Xie ignored him.
His teacher had said that since he was good with words, he should use them. As a Soul Elder, he was tying up a Soul Ancestor here, what more could he ask for?
Next, Xie Xie not only didn't stop, but his trash talk increased, even bringing Xu Lizhi, Ye Xinglan, and the others into it. The others in the battle couldn't help but get distracted, almost exposed openings due to it.
Finally, Duan Hunxiao couldn't take it anymore, and his third soul ring lit up.
Third Soul Skill·Soul-Severing Nine Turns!
The sharp flute sound turned into nine sound blades that shot through the air. Xie Xie didn't retreat but instead advanced, his footwork changing, creating three afterimages, "Is that all? The old lady next door scolding the street has more water than this!"
In the VIP seats, Gu Ruiqiu exclaimed, "This kid's mouth is sharper than his dagger."
Huo Yuhao smiled helplessly.
What is this, a dodge-and-taunt tank?
But Xie Xie tying up the group-control Soul Ancestor here was indeed very meaningful.
Without this Soul Ancestor's group control, the other battles... Shrek would be powerless to turn the tide.
After all, Shrek was currently six against seven.
Lan Muzi frowned, sighing inwardly.
After Long Chen was taken down by Tang Wulin in one move, the rhythm of the match had fallen into the hands of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy.
Yue Zhengyu, with his fully awakened martial soul, was fighting Yuanen Yehui evenly, but both were being cautious, and it was hard to tell who had the upper hand.
However, the other battles weren't so optimistic.
He Xiaopeng, without support, was about to lose to Tang Wulin. If it wasn't for his martial soul's spatial attribute, he wouldn't have lasted this long.
And Ye Xinglan and Bai Hanying... they were facing four opponents!
Ye Xinglan's Star God Sword trembled violently in the snowstorm, the three-inch cold light at the tip of the blade seemed somewhat overwhelmed. In front of her and Bai Hanying, Wang Jinxi's Bone Dragon King martial soul stood menacingly, Zhang Yangzi circled in the air sealing off retreat paths, and Xu Yucheng's Dark Scythe gleamed with an eerie light, further away, Xu Xiaoyan's martial soul was already glowing with the light of a control soul skill.
Bai Hanying: "..."
This is going to be troublesome.
With Xinglan's strength, she could hold her own against a four-ringed Soul Ancestor, but facing so many opponents, they were likely... doomed to lose.